Okay, last filler chapter!

lol jk. You're not that lucky. There's yet another filler chapter before things pick up, but - hopefully - the filler chapters aren't totally boring. I mean, they have to exist; the plot can't be supported on nothing but swordfights forever.

also (spoilers)the next chapter (no. 10) has Gin meeting Shinsõ, woop woop. So not completely boring filler.

Anyway, as always, enjoy.

X-X-X

The Striking Snake

ch9

Preparations

X-X-X

Gin awoke uncomfortably.

It was undoubtedly dawn - Gin's internal clock was pretty precise - but there was no warm sunlight from his east-facing window. His body ached all over...

Wait.

Gin actually opened his eyes fully, somewhat amazed. He was alive. How had that happened?

"Good morning, Ichimaru-san!" Came a familiar voice. "Sleep well?"

Gin smiled, although he winced as he did so. "About as well as a dead man can be expected to, Urahara-san," he replied. "Why am I here, and how am I alive?"

Urahara batted his eyelashes. "Why are you here? Well, I just happened to be going for a midnight stroll in the rain..."

Gin raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh."

"... When I came across your unconscious spirit body lying on the sidewalk! So, like any model citizen would do, I picked you up and brought you here to recover!"

Gin laughed shortly. "Of course. And the second question?"

"Buckets of healing Kido, and hope. It helped that we were able to get you back in your mortal body." Kisuke pulled his fan out of his pocket. "So, Ichimaru Gin, how does it feel to be a fully living human once more?"

"It - wait, what?" Gin frowned. "Wait... that captain said something about that, didn't he..."

"Yep. Soul anchor strike. Not easy to do; it requires incredible precision." Kisuke twirled his fan. "That was probably Byakuya's idea of showing off, electing to do that instead of just killing you; he sure didn't do it out of mercy. It strips the reiryoku from the soul and leaves a scar in their spirit like an organic seal. Depowers the victim completely. Most would say it's irreversible."

Gin clenched his teeth. "No. No, I don't have time to be weak, not now. I just need a little. I can work the rest out by cloak and dagger if I have to, but I need enough to - wait..." He paused, his smile returning. "Only most would say it's irreversible, eh?"

Kisuke's grin put the Ichimaru Special to shame. "You may kill me, but you may never mock me. It is not for nothing that, in my time, I was called the greatest mind the Soul Society had ever known." He snapped his fan shut. "I have developed a lengthy, painful, and incredibly risky process that can probably - no promises, but probably - give you what you want. What you really want, in your case, not what you think you want."

Gin cocked an eyebrow. "Y'know, I wasn't under the impression there was a difference."

"Oh, but there is! You think you want the power you had returned to you, right? The speed, the strength, the sword you had? You're wrong." Kisuke chuckled. "No, you don't want to storm the gates of heaven with nothing more than the power you crudely put on like an ill-fitting jacket. You'd just die."

Gin's other eyebrow rose.

"You've been working with a bastardized adaption of Rukia-chan's power, and that will never do," Kisuke continued. "No. My method will - assuming you survive - break the scar on your soul anchor, and break it with fresh strength, born from your own soul, as a Shinigami's power should be. That is what true strength is."

Gin sighed, his grin shrinking slightly. "Ya keep bringing up these risks," he said. "She said I shouldn't come after her, didn't she? Is it really worth it?"

Kisuke's grin vanished in the blink of an eye. "Only you can answer that question, Ichimaru Gin." His tone was suddenly cold and serious. "Is she worth it to you? I do not know. What I can tell you is, if the central 46 have their way - and they always do - she will die."

Gin's sanguine orbs snapped open.

"Her crimes are severe, and even if they would not normally merit a death sentence, I have... reason to believe that her arrest was not just a matter of military formalities. There are darker forces at work, my dear Gin." He stood up. "I can show you the road, but I cannot walk it for you. Will you risk death and damnation every step of the way, for the life of Kuchiki Rukia? Even if, as she said, she would not forgive your actions?"

Just as he had done on the night the Fishbone hollow had attacked his family, Gin didn't hesitate for even a second.

"Yes. I'll do anything," he said simply, his eyes narrowing and his grin returning. "Anything it takes, no matter how dark."

Kisuke's jovial tone returned in a flash. "Splendid!" He said. "Now get up. Tessai brought your school books over, and you're far better off attending school today. Get going."

As much as the thought grated him, Gin knew Kisuke had a point. It was Friday, and it looked better to complete the week before leaving school for an indefinite period. Even the cruelest governments took more than a day to sentence and execute their captive enemies, and if there was time to retrain his Shinigami power, surely he could afford one more day of school.

He smiled, his plastic expression as unreadable as ever. "Of course, Urahara-san."

X-X-X

Karakura High felt like a school full of ghosts.

Although Gin hated admitting any form of dependence, without Rukia around, he felt... inert. Empty. The visage of the grinning demon still hid any disturbance within him, but when Rukia had been around, it had concealed happiness and warmth; with her gone, he now felt once again like a cold-blooded snake, his mask hiding nothing more than a hollow void.

Rukia was gone. Worse than gone - she was erased, like she had never existed. No-one remembered she had ever attended the school. He had gone out of his usual morning creeping to spy on the girls she had sometimes hung out with - none of them so much as blinked at her absence.

None, that is, except the three plumes of reiatsu he'd detected on the challenge day: Tatsuki, Orihime and Chizuru. Those three seemed on edge, and Gin was willing to bet it was Rukia's disappearance.

When the lunch bell rang, the group unanimously congregated on the roof. Gin, Chad, Tatsuki, Orihime, and even Uryuu and Chizuru. Given that Chizuru was not trying to grope Orihime, and Tatsuki wasn't enacting violence on her, it seemed even she was uncharacteristically serious.

"I wouldn't have thought ya cared about Shinigami troubles, Jam-san," said Gin. "In fact, I'm surprised you noticed she's gone."

"I might not have, Ichimaru," replied the Quincy. "However, as luck would have it, I managed to observe your... encounter with that captain. I wasn't foolish enough to engage in a fight I knew I couldn't win, but I did see it."

Gin cocked his head. "That doesn't explain why ya care."

"Simple." Uryuu gave a rare grin. "I have no doubt that you have a hare-brained scheme to rescue Kuchiki-san from the jaws of execution. Any scheme that's guaranteed to throw the Gotei Juusan-Tai into disarray has my support, even if it means consorting with a deputy Shinigami."

"So it wasn't some kind of illusion?" Orihime broke in. "Kuchiki-san really did exist?"

Gin's smirk grew even wider. "I think the people in the school have been memory-flashed - or whatever - so they don't remember her. Yeah, she exists." He flicked his hair back before continuing. "Last night, she was arrested by two powerful Shinigami and taken back to the afterlife... Urahara-san says she's almost certain t' be sentenced to death."

Orihime and Chizuru gasped. Tatsuki, however, frowned. "Gin, you didn't deny it when Ishida asserted that you had a plot to save her."

Gin scratched the back of his head. "Ahh, well," he said almost bashfully. "I wouldn't call it a plot, really. I'm way better at just makin' things up as I go along. But yeah... Urahara-san said he had a way to make me powerful, and a way t' get me into the Soul Society - and that's all I need to get started."

"How long would it take to train all of us?"

Surprised at the unusual eloquence from the quiet giant, the group turned to face Chad.

"Uhh... Chad, I know your heart's in the right place, but do ya really mean to say that ya want to actually come with me on this crazy quest?" Gin raised an eyebrow. "Not that ya aren't the man I'd best trust at my back, but this ain't exactly a schoolyard fight I'm getting into."

"Not just me." Chad smiled slightly. "None of us would be here if we weren't Rukia's friends."

"Huh?"

"Don't act dumb, Ichimaru, because I know you're not." Uryuu pushed his glasses up. "Everyone in this circle possesses some form of spirit powers, and everyone in this circle, barring possibly me, is a friend of Kuchiki-san. If you think you can convince us not to accompany you, you're almost certainly wrong."

Gin was about to protest, but then he took in the expressions on the faces of the group.

Chad had the faintest look of... anger, and Chad never got angry - he was the least aggressive person Gin knew. Orihime was calm, but she didn't look at all zoned out. Tatsuki had the determined look she usually wore right before she pounded her opponent into dust in the grand finals of a tournament.

Gin didn't know Chizuru well, but he was sure she was determined to follow Orihime wherever she went. Uryuu had a smirk that was a clear indication of how much he was looking forward to causing chaos among the Shinigami.

Gin's smirk widened. "Well, not that I think it's a good idea or anything," he said with a mock air of resignation, "but who am I to say what ya'll can or can't do?"

Though none matched Gin's habitual expression, the rest of the group grinned in anticipation.

X-X-X

"My, my! I expected one or two of your friends to join you, Ichimaru-san, not five. But the more the merrier, hmm?" Kisuke twirled his fan. "As much as I appreciate your enthusiasm, I fear I cannot train you all. Given the circumstances, I must focus my genius on Ichimaru-san alone."

"What?" Said Uryuu. "Why?"

"Simple." Kisuke snapped the fan shut, pointing it at each individual in turn. "Ishida-san, you are a Quincy, not a Shinigami, and you obviously already know far more about your own power than I could learn on short notice. Arisawa-san, from what I sensed of your reiatsu, you appear to have spontaneously manifested a zanpakutõ, making you a Shinigami - but the highly usual circumstances that caused this manifestation make it risky to train your power without extensive and time-consuming testing. Inoue-san, your powers are at least as unusual as Arisawa-san's, made more so by the fact they are not a true zanpakutõ. Lastly, Sado-san's abilities appear almost hollow-like, while Honshõ-san's outright are hollow powers - I will say nothing of the fact that a... living human should be unable to possess such abilities."

The group collectively stared at Kisuke, bewildered by his rattled-off stack of information that he appeared to have learned effortlessly.

"See the problem?" He continued. "The only powers I understand in enough detail to train are Ichimaru's and Honshõ's, and for Honshõ-san, I fear that training techniques for hollows are a rather neglected area of research - the Gotei Juusan-Tai aren't exactly known for wanting to make hollows stronger. If you all feel you really must learn more about your abilities, ask Ishida-san to train you; he has a good understanding of basic reiatsu techniques, and we hardly have time to work on deeper topics."

Tatsuki raised her hand, as if they were in a classroom. "Urahara-san, you keep bringing up how little time we have. Exactly how much time do we have to save Rukia?"

Kisuke tapped his chin. "Assuming the central 46 cut as many corners as they can without causing a revolt... about sixteen days, which gives you a bit more than a week to accomplish your goal after I've trained Gin. In truth it should probably be a little longer, but it's hard to say how fast he'll move."

Gin didn't miss Kisuke's use of the singular pronoun, but said nothing.

"Anyway. Ishida-san, if you wish to train your comrades, I would recommend the forest northwest of Karakura - few, if any, pay that area a visit. I shall send a... friend of mine along to observe your progress." He gestured to Gin. "You. Come with me."

X-X-X

There was a click of lights turning on.

"Wow!" Said Kisuke, with clearly exaggerated shock. "I wonder how it is that I have this huge space in my basement?!"

"I would assume it was 'cause ya built it," snickered Gin. "Though I dunno, ghosts and death gods and soul-eating monsters - maybe dwarves aren't too far-fetched at all, really."

Indeed, had he not been the one that built it, even Kisuke himself would have been impressed with his test hall. The ceiling was well over a hundred feet overhead, and painted in such a way that correct illumination gave the illusion of a sky. The floor of the room must have been bigger than ten football fields, and the far-off walls were painted in the same way as the ceiling, making the test hall appear to be a wide open area of land. The roof and walls, underneath the paint, were layered with deathstone to ensure that any... excessively malfunctioning experiments could manage a blast radius no larger than the room's confines.

"Quite." Kisuke tapped his cane. "Tessai! I need you for the Shattered Shaft."

The immense shop assistant - whom Gin surmised had to be a deserter from the Gotei Juusan-Tai, just like Kisuke - slid quickly down the ladder. "Ready when you are, boss."

Without warning, Kisuke brought his cane up and poked Gin squarely in the forehead with it. Gin fell backwards out of his own body, only just keeping his footing. He frowned as he saw that, instead of a shihakusõ, he was dressed in reishi replicas of his body's clothes, just like a plus ghost - and that he had a long chain running from a plate on his chest to a similar plate on his body.

"I kinda wish you people would give me some warning before doing that... I swear, you're as bad as Rukia..."

Kisuke ignored the jab, and pressed a button on his cane. The length slid off to reveal - surprise, surprise - a sleek steel sword blade hidden inside. "Tessai!" He called. "Get the shaft ready."

Tessai nodded, sitting cross-legged and clapping his hands together. He began a strange Kido chant, one Gin didn't recognize.

As Tessai chanted the spell, a ten-meter radius circle of ground before him sank out of sight, leaving a deep well with almost perfectly sheer sides.

Kisuke turned to face Gin, his face suddenly dead serious."Gin Ichimaru, this might as well be the point of no return, since this will be the first of many, many times you will have to put your life and soul on the line. This technique is extremely risky and has not been tested on a living human before. If your resolve is weak, you will die and turn into a hollow. Do you understand?"

Gin nodded, his grin stretching from ear to ear.

"Good."

Kisuke swung his sword with blinding speed, striking sparks as it cut through Gin's soul chain. "Tessai, now!" He called.

Tessai nodded, clapping his hands together again.

"Bakudõ 99, part 1: Seal!"

Gin's red eyes flashed open momentarily as heavy black straps, like weighted leather, appeared out of nowhere and wrapped themselves around his arms. The weight of the straps almost forced him to his knees.

He narrowed his eyes again, annoyed at the lack of warning. "Well, not what I expected," he hissed. "But I suppose, if you are doing this, it must serve some purpose."

"This is the Shattered Shaft trial, Ichimaru-san," said Kisuke. "Bakudõ 99 requires both parts to be a truly adamant binding, but the first part alone is still no trivial spell. Your soul chain is cut and you are separated from your body; you are in fact now technically dead. But you know as well as I do that the dead are rarely allowed to rest."

Gin smirked. "So. What's the next step?"

"As you are aware, soul chains decay over time. At this stage the details of the Kido would pass right over your head - suffice to say: once within the confines of that shaft, your soul chain has a lifespan of almost exactly 72 hours," said Kisuke. "This is how the trial goes: you, with a cut soul chain and your hands tied behind your back with a powerful Bakudõ - you must climb out of the shaft. When you reach the top, you will have restored your power. If the chain decays before you escape, you will become a hollow."

Gin frowned. His eyes did not open, but he wore a serious expression.

"This is bullshit," he said at last. "This whole thing is a psychological trick, and ya aren't telling me what it is."

"How astute of you, Ichimaru-san," replied Kisuke, chuckling slightly. "Unfortunately, in a world of spirits that fundamentally exist only as manifestations of their mind - a world where one can fly, hurl thunderbolts, and destroy mountains at the whim one's will - you will find that psychology is everything, and some lessons just have to be learned the hard way. Now, happy landings!"

Kisuke tipped his hat, and Tessai picked Gin up bodily, throwing him into the huge pit.

X-X-X

Shoutout to my dedicated fans (crickets chirping), you are what keeps me going! And shoutout to those who hit up the story, add it to their lists, etc. I wish you'd review more!

Okay, this is probably going to sound plain whiny but... seriously, if you read this story, please review. The soul of art is the communication of creative ideals and... it kinda sucks to have only one-way communication. If you liked the story, it's as simple as "hey, I liked the story." If you didn't, well, I'd prefer you told me why you didn't, but it's still nearly as simple.

anyway that's enough of me babbling. See you next thursday!